Born in Graz, he studied at the conservatory in Vienna before making his debut in Pest in 1860; he sang the role of St. Bris in Les Huguenots.
He was a failure, and abandoned the stage entirely in favor of further study; he selected Manuel García as his new teacher.
Though he returned to the stage in Dessau, he did not see success until he sang at the Crystal Palace in London in 1862.
In 1882, he created the role of Gurnemanz in Parsifal for Richard Wagner at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus.
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